I used a Sabatti .500 this year to knock down a wild Oxen at around 90yds.

The rifle performed as expected.
Shouldering, aiming and shooting that one shot was no issues though the general shape of the Sabatti stock is tending a little high for me personally.

This particular rifle, owned by a freind of mine from Nth Carolina, appears well made, is accurate enough and does not suffer from any of the "dremmel" regulating issues the rifles have become synonomous for.

I watched him over the week exhibit some of the finest double rifle feild shots it has ever been my pleasure to witness.

From my limited exposure to them I would suggest to anyone to try the feel of their stocks.

If the stock fits you and you confidently know how to identify, and steer clear of, examples with ground muzzles then the Sabatti represents a viable economical entry level double rifle.

Thanks enysse...between the whitworth, both rugers, and win model 70 375's and 416 rigby..my double will finnish me out. One of these bolt guns will fit and shoot better than the others. We will see how I do with the double. I started paying on it in august and am over halfway now. Maybe by the end of March..:thinking:

Thanks enysse...between the whitworth, both rugers, and win model 70 375's and 416 rigby..my double will finnish me out. One of these bolt guns will fit and shoot better than the others. We will see how I do with the double. I started paying on it in august and am over halfway now. Maybe by the end of March..:thinking:

Very Good news!! :satisfied:
This rifle is really good looking !! :thumb: :daydreaming:
But what is its price ? Do you know it ?

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Well the Basic model 92 in a 45-70 and 9.2x74mm is $3000 US DOLLARS.
The Model 92 Deluxe in the 450/400 NE, 416 Rigby, 450 NE, 470 NE and 500 NE cost $5000 without ejectors, $5500 with ejectors at Cabelas.

The old ones had the end of the barrels regulated by a dremel tool. As far as serial numbers, that's beyond my knowledge level. Cabelas would let you return the gun if it didn't shoot well but overseas I'm sure the guarantee situation is different .

Well the Basic model 92 in a 45-70 and 9.2x74mm is $3000 US DOLLARS.
The Model 92 Deluxe in the 450/400 NE, 416 Rigby, 450 NE, 470 NE and 500 NE cost $5000 without ejectors, $5500 with ejectors at Cabelas.

Just got a report from a friend in South Africa that a hunter in his party had a major problem with his new Sabatti. While the rifle fired well the hunters were caught in the rain. Everyone went back to camp and cleaned their guns including he Sabatti owner. Everyone oiled their rifles before retiring for the evening. The following morning the Sabatti was rusted.

Well it's safe to say the Sabatti is no longer on my wish list. Seems to be a long list of problems with the Sabatti. A little rain on a well oiled gun sould have been no problem, I could see if it were blood, blood is very corrosive.

Enjoy Life Now! It has an Expiration Date.
US Representative for Huntershill Safaris and Father & Son Safaris

I am seeing ads for Sabatti's regulated by Ken Owen. The only calibers I can find is 450- 400 and 470 NE. The rifles are advertised to be regulated for Hornady Ammo. Anybody know any additional information about these Owen regulated rifles?

I am seeing ads for Sabatti's regulated by Ken Owen. The only calibers I can find is 450- 400 and 470 NE. The rifles are advertised to be regulated for Hornady Ammo. Anybody know any additional information about these Owen regulated rifles?

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I bought one of the rifles your speaking of.

the rifle didn't shoot worth beans with factory ammunition and I had to customize hand loads to get it to perform some kind of group. then when I finally got it shooting "useful" groups it bound up and became extremely difficult to open the rifle. I sent the gun back for a refund.

from first hand experience, I can strongly advise against buying a Sabatti rifle! save your money and buy a Chapuis or Merkel (buy new, NOT used).

-matt

"A buffalo could probably be taken with a well placed frozen herring but, the question is: "What's the point"?" -Velo Dog

Sounds like someone needs to learn how to properly clean a rifle and the proper equipment to use. Or perhaps the gentleman angered the Rust Gods? That sadly sounds a bit far out to blame the gun rusting on the gun itself.

I have bought Sabatti double rifle in 450/400 NE caliber in September 2013. I made 2 mistakes - wrong caliber to buy in South Africa (SA) and wrong manufacturer.

Let me explain - boring story, but if you want to buy Sabatii maybe you should read it.

I wanted rifle to use not only once for buffalo hunt, but something not too heavy that can be used for bigger plains game. So I decided to buy 450/400 instead of buying 470 that is quite common in SA. And after some investigation I have decided to purchase "poor's man" double from Sabatti because any other double in SA costs double money. I knew that Sabatti had some problems with regulation of double rifles (filing of rifling) but that was apparently sorted. And the rifle that I saw at local dealer looked good, so I bought it. They didn't have stock of ammo nor cases for it, but I got assurance from the dealer that before I get my firearm license they will have ammo.

After 2 months I got my license, but nobody had ammo in SA. Nobody had empty cases either. The only thing I managed to buy was box of Hornady bullet points and Hornady reloading dies without shell holder. Shell holder I ordered from USA and cases I borrowed from super kind local hunter.

Then I started testing rifle using 2 different local powders, PMP and Winchester primers, Hornady and two locally produced bullets (Impala and Peregrine). Whatever I did, left barrel was crossing the path of right barrel and on 25 meters only the distance between prints on target was more than 12cm (left barrel printing high and to the right from right barrel). The rifle obviously wasn't properly regulated but it took me more than 6 months to prove it to the dealer and importer. They took the rifle to the local gunsmith who agreed that it wasn't regulated but rightly refused to repair it and they finally decided to send it back to Sabatti.

In the meantime I still couldn't buy Hornady factory ammo anywhere in SA. I have managed to buy 60 Kynoch cases that were 5-10 times more expensive than for instance 470 NE cases. Then only dealer offered to refund me back, but I have invested more money in this caliber now (cases, dies, bullets, etc.) and no other manufacturer was selling rifle in that caliber in SA. Also I hoped that this can be sorted before I go through process of de-registering the rifle and applying for new license. That was another mistake!

I had to apply for export permit for rifle to be sent to Italy. Shipping agent applied for me but if I didn't check it and sent missing documentation I would wait who knows for how long. Anyway, export permit was done in month time and then Sabatti had to apply for import permit in Italy. And finally all documentation was ready in beginning of September 2014. Year after I bought my rifle! But rifle arrived in Italy only at the end of October! The shipping agent was working at the same pace as dealer, importer and Sabatti.

In all this process nobody was informing me what was happening. I had to constantly call or send emails to get any info form any of those guys involved. After numerous emails to one contact in Sabatti (he usually doesn't want to reply on my email till I threaten to publish my story on internet) he confirmed that the rifle was repaired on 02/12/2015 and that they are waiting for export permit to send it back. Can anyone explain me why they didn't apply for export permit immediately after receiving the rifle?

Then I get message from shipping agent that my South African export/import expired, and that we have to apply for a new one before they can get export permit in Italy. So they applied and after 3 weeks it is still not finished. I call CFR (Central Firearm Registry) and the same documents are missing again. When I asked shipping agent what happened, he replied that they sent all documents (even twice) but he doesn't want to send me proof of correspondence.

So, if you don't live in USA, do not buy obsolete caliber because you won't be able to buy ammo or it will be 10 times more expensive than any other. South Africa is small market and it looks like nobody cares (I am sure that customer care is much better in many other countries). Before buying any rifle try to contact manufacturer directly. If they do not reply, be suspicious. Just use email that is on Sabatti web site.

Sabatti rifles look good and they are probably worth their money if they work. But my didn't work and it is almost an year and a half after the time I bought it and it is still not back repaired. When (if) I get it back, I still don't know if it will be properly regulated.

With just a bit of looking, you can find a Blaser S2 for just a third more. It doesn't look traditional, but it is accurate, ergonomically a joy, has the Blaser protective finish, shoots every time the trigger is pulled, and uses Blaser mounts for either a scope or red-dot sight. Did I mention you can get additional barrels that fit without needing a gunsmith?

"We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm" American Novelist - W. Churchill

"The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there." L.P. Hartley

Dark,
I almost stepped in the same mess, buffalo poop, you are in now. Sabatti rifles are crap from start to finish. You can't get answers from the factory because they didn't really fix the thing I will bet. Americans quit buying them because of the regulation issues you speak of. At first the store, Cabelas , was sending them back to Sabatti to get them fixed but got the same issues you have. So they got gunsmiths in USA as I understand it to fix them. Watch when you get it back and don't let it get wet because it will rust very fast. Heard about this from an African PH.